William j



W. J. CRANE.

Automatic Key-Board Attachment for Musical Instrument.

No. 224,152. Patented Feb. 3, 1880.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM J. CRANE, OF POTTSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES WV. BARKER, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC KEY-BOARD ATTACHMENT FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 224,152, dated February 3, 1880,

Application filed July 10, 1879.

struments, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to that class of devices for mechanically operating musical instruments having key-boards.

Heretot'ore mechanical devices for operating key-board musical instruments have been constructed with a series of levers or keys, with clamping-screws on the sides of the device for fastening it to the instrument. Some of these devices have grooved or cogged rollers for feeding the music-sheets to the machine, and others have double reels for the same purpose.

The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus which can be readily attached to a piano, organ, or similar instrument, for the pm pose of operating or performing on the instrument by mechanical means.

'Iheinvention consists in the construction and arrangement of the clamping device, in connection with the mechanical attachment, for performing mechanically on the key-board,

for securing the said attachment to the musical instrmnent, as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts, Figure I is a front view-of my invention Fig. 2, a top view; Fig. 3, a transverse section, and Fig.4 part of a sheet of music to be used in the device.

A B are two rolls extending the length of the key-board of the instrument to be performed on 5 or they may be made shorter, ifso desired. On the roll A, at each end, is a rubber band, just large enough to press on the roll B and rotate it when A is rotated. A crank or handle is secured to one end of the roll A.

D' is a frame-work, in which the rolls are placed. The barE,With thefmgersE E ,forms a key-action. The buttons 0 G are mounted loosely on the ends of two rods, which are fitted in a nut, C, at their other ends. One of these rods merely tits in a socket in 0; but the other rod is screwed in. \Vhen the buttons O O are placed against the side uprights on a piano or organ and the nut 0 turned, the whole frame-work will be held securely in place directly over the key-board.

In Fig. 3 it will be observed that the finger E of the key-action is made to fit overa black key, while E is titted for a white key, and both lingers are pivoted at F.

X is a sheet of music, composed of a sheet of paper or other material having raised character s on it, made of leather, felt, or any other suitable substance. These raised characters represent the notes of the music, and are so disposed over the sheet as to represent the music to be performed. The sheet of music is to be placed between the rolls A and B, as shown in Fig. 3, and the handle or crank on the roll A is to be turned. This will cause the sheet. to pass between the rolls, and as the raised characters on the sheet meet with the ends of the fingers of the key-action they will be-raised at that end and depressed at the other end. The end thusdepressed will press down the key of the instrument and sound the proper note. The length of the note sounded is regulated by the'raised characters on the music-sheet, which are made long or short in proportion to the length of the note desired.

It will be readily seen that a person having no musical knowledge whatever can, with this apparatus, perform on any key-board musical instrument, and that the scope of the device is only limited by the extentot' the key-board.

What I claim is In an attachment for performing mechanically upon key-board musical instruments, comprising the rolls A and B, the rubber bands A, the key-action E E E, and the handle or crank on A, the clam pin g device composed of the buttons 0 G, the nut U, and the rods connectin g them, substantially as shown and described.

\VM. J. CRANE. \Vitnesses:

JACOB CHRISMAN, FRANK HAUSE. 

